Making It Through
by Be Your Wonderwall
Summary: Jack's niece moves in with Jack, Ian, and Alex. What chaos will ensue? SET BEFORE STORMBREAKER.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is set before Stormbreaker.**

"Melody!" Jack yelled making Alex laugh.

Melody Starbright was Jack's niece and sister; Melody's parents were killed when Melody was young so she was moved in with Jack and her parents. Melody had dark hair that was wavy and laid on her upper chest and pale skin that made her bright green eyes pop. Melody was named because of her father's love for music, and it suited her.

Melody's mom was Jack's sister, Carly Hoover. Carly married Jake Hoover; they met through work and dated for two years before getting married. After a year of marriage they had Melody whom they loved tremendously. Jake and Carly worked at the World Trade Center and were working on that fateful day in 2001. Melody was only five and didn't understand what had happened; she was now fourteen and understood. Melody was very unhappy in D.C with Jack's parents because of the constant reminders of her parents's deaths.

Jack had asked Ian if Melody could take the extra bedroom and offered to pay for all her expenses but Ian said, "Jack, of course she can have the bedroom but I'll pay for her expenses. It's the least I can do with my being away so often." Jack was very excited and couldn't wait to spend time with Melody.

Jack embraced Melody and Melody dropped her bags returning the hug, "Hey, Jack."

Jack let Melody go and gestured to Alex, "This is the boy I look after here in London, Alex. His uncle, Ian, is often away on business so for the most part it'll be the three of us well, other than Tom but that's beside the point; welcome to England, Melody."

"Thanks, Jack," Melody replied laughing.

Alex held out his hand, "Hi, Melody!"

"Hey." They shook hands and the meeting was very awkward for the two.

"Ian is away right now so you won't meet him until he comes back. Here let's get to the house and get you settled." Melody often missed her aunt's enthusiasm; she brightened her day.

Jack took half her bags and Alex took the other half making her say, "You don't have to do that."

"Eh, I want to," Alex replied heading towards the exit of Heathrow.

They exited the airport and clambered into Jack's small car. Alex let Melody have the passenger seat and Jack took the driver's seat since neither Alex nor Melody were allowed to drive.

"So, Melody how's life been since I've seen you last?" Jack asked glancing at the teen.

"As it always is; terrible. I mean, I'm thankful for my life and everything but there's only so much reminding I can take," Melody replied shaking her head.

"Well, that's why you're here. I'm sure you'll settle in fine; you like soccer, right?" Jack asked Melody making her nod, "Well, then you'll fit in just fine."

"I'll show you around and take you to meet some of my friends tonight," Alex offered making Jack look back at him surprised.

"Wow, Alex. I'm proud of you," Jack told him coming to a halt in the middle of London traffic.

Alex stuck his tongue out at Jack and directed his voice at Melody, "You'll love it here; it's not much different than America. Well, except the cars and the accents but other than that!"

Melody chuckled as Jack maneuvered through traffic to get to the house. Jack managed to get home in twenty minutes time and they unloaded Melody's stuff into the extra bedroom.

"Can you help her unpack while I call my parents?" Jack asked Alex making him nod.

Jack jogged downstairs and left the two teens alone in the room and Melody looked at Alex, "So, you play soccer?"

"Uh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, we call it football here. I'm the captain of the boys team well, was," Alex replied grabbing a duffel bag and unzipping revealing bedding.

Melody was putting away her clothes in the closest and dresser while Alex made the bed with her sheets and blankets.

"I love soccer, or football, because when I'm on the field it's like nothing matters anymore," Melody told Alex blushing.

"Same here. It's amazing," Alex replied.

Melody shoved the black suitcase in the closest, and unzipped another. There was all her pictures and posters and a package of tape.

"I can use tape on the walls, right?" Melody asked Alex and he nodded.

Melody took a pile of picture frames and set them on the dresser. The frames were green and purple and had pictures of her family and her best friend. She set the picture of her parents on her bedside table and set the rest on the dresser. She had a multiple pictures of her youth group, multiple pictures of her with her grandparents, multiple pictures of class trips, and multiple pictures of her with her best friend, Caleb. They pictures took up the entire dresser and she smiled at all the memories. They were seventeen pictures and she started taping up posters. She had six posters all consisting of song lyrics, quotes, singers, and a memorial to nine-eleven. One poster had the lyrics to the song, 'Stay' by Miley Cyrus, one had a bunch of inspirational quotes, another had John Mayer on it, one had the lyrics to 'Blackbird' by the Beatles on it, one had a a collage of inspirational words, and the last read, 'Remember' and had a picture of the Twin Towers on it. She taped them up and Alex had all the suitcases put away.

"Thanks," Melody told him.

"No problem so, do you want me to show you around?" Alex asked hovering in the doorway.

"Yeah! Let me take a shower but then yeah!" Melody grabbed a bra, underwear, shorts, and a tee shirt making Alex say, "It's cold out in the evening so you might want a sweatshirt." Melody nodded and reached into her drawer and grabbed a sweatshirt. She looked around and located the bathroom and entered. She stripped off her sweaty clothes and took a quick shower. She pulled her black and light blue athletic shorts on, her light blue soccer tee shirt and her grey Aeropostale sweatshirt on. She exited the bathroom and pulled her blue and gray Nike's on. She jogged downstairs where Alex was sitting on the counter talking to Jack.

"Oh, Melody... You're gonna freeze," Jack muttered.

"Then you can say you told me so," Melody replied.

"Let's go," Alex told her jumping off the counter.

He led her outside and looked over at her, "Fall comes quickly here so it gets cold fast. Well, I guess I'll take you to meet Tom first."

"Alright, so who's Tom?" Melody asked following Alex.

"He's my best friend and he's often over because his parents fight a lot," Alex replied making Melody remember Caleb.

"Crud, I was supposed to call Caleb when I got here!" Melody cursed herself.

"Here, and Caleb is your... boyfriend?" Alex asked handing her a cell phone.

"Naw, my best friend. We never had romantic feelings," Melody replied dialing the codes and Caleb's number.

"Hello?" Caleb's deep voice came over the phone.

"It's Melody," Melody told him.

"Mel! How's England?" Caleb asked her.

"I dunno! I've been here for like two hours, Caleb!" Melody replied laughing.

"Well, we have to talk every day. I miss you way too much," Caleb told her.

"I miss you too. I gotta go but I'll talk to you later on Facebook or I.M," Melody told him.

"Love ya," Caleb told her.

"Love you too," Melody replied hanging up and handing the phone to Alex.

Alex stopped at a small house and knocked; a small boy with dark hair answered and quickly came outside shutting the door.

"Alex! Thank goodness!" the boy screeched before noticing Melody, "Uh, Alex? There's a girl with you."

"Yeah. Her name's Melody and she's Jack's niece. She lives with me as of today," Alex told him.

"Hi, Melody. I'm Tom," Tom told her smiling.

"Hi..." Melody trailed off thinking about her life back in D.C.

"You wanna play some soccer?" Alex asked Melody.

"Sure," Melody replied throwing off her sweatshirt while Tom found a ball.

"So two against one? Melody, do you wanna be with me or Tom or by yourself?" Alex asked Melody.

"With Tom; I wanna see how good you are," Melody teased.

"Alright, let's go," Alex told her.

They ran to the side yard and got in position. They began playing and Tom passed the ball to Melody and she dribbled it up to Alex and started teasing him with the ball. She dodged around him and went for the goal but Alex caught up with her. Tom was behind her so she passed the ball to him and he dribbled it passed both of them. Alex and Melody ran at the same speed until Melody's foot caught Alex's and they fell. Melody tumbling onto the concrete sidewalk; Alex jumped up and helped her up. Her elbow and knee were scraped up making Alex wince.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," Alex murmured.

Tom ran inside his house looking for bandaids while Alex made Melody sit down, "You've been here for all of two hours and you already hurt yourself."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm sorry if this to boring but I have to set the story in the first three chapters and I promise next chapter something good will happen... I hope. haha R&R Please and thank you!**

Melody headed downstairs tiredly where Jack was making breakfast and collapsed on the couch. Alex sitting on the counter and laughed at her. She had been there for three weeks now and was still tired all the time because she stayed up late talking to Caleb. So she stayed up half the night and got woken up early. She and Alex had gotten close over the past weeks and they got along well. Jack was surprised at how well they had gotten used to each other. They were acting like brother and sister which made Jack happy. Alex stood up and sat by Melody's feet making her jump.

"Tired?" Alex teased nudging her foot.

"Shut up," Melody replied sitting up and rubbing her forehead.

Alex grinned and they made their way into the kitchen where Jack looked at Melody.

"Aw, come on, Mel. Go to bed earlier," Jack told her seeing her niece.

"But it's the only time Caleb isn't at football practice!" Melody protested.

Jack sighed and portioned the eggs onto three plate handing a plate to Alex and Melody. Melody picked at her eggs as the phone rang and Jack answered it.

"Oh, hi, Ian!" Jack murmured making Alex's head snap up.

"Really? Alex will love that! You'll get to meet Melody! See ya!" Jack hung up the phone.

"Ian's coming home?" Alex asked excitment saturating his voice.

"Yes! He'll be home at noon," Jack replied making Alex grin.

They finished breakfast and then they got ready for the day. Melody threw on some black skinny jeans and a cute lavender dress top. She put her makeup on and brushed her hair letting the dark curls fall on her shoulders. She ran back downstairs and Alex was sitting on the couch in some basketball shorts and a soccer jersey. It looked like a team uniform because it matched perfectly. Melody sat next to him and he looked at her, "Dressed up much?"

"I dress like this when I'm not wearing athletic clothes," Melody replied smiling.

Alex shook his head and Melody sighed. They waited patiently for Ian to come but Melody couldn't stand the silence.

"How are you so silent and just sitting there?" Melody demanded standing up.

"I'm waiting for Ian," Alex replied.

Melody rolled her us and pulled Alex up. She pulled him outside and started running down the road.

"Catch me if you can, Alex!" Melody shouted making him taking off in a sprint.

She kept running and looked back to Alex gaining on her. She groaned and pushed herself even faster. She felt Alex's arms lock around her torso and he threw her over his shoulder.

"Al-EX! PUT ME DOWN!" Melody screeched as Alex carried her back to the house.

His arms were locked under her knees so she wouldn't fall and he set her down on the lawn in front of the house.

"You know, you just might be one of the best friends I've ever had even if I've only been here for three weeks," Melody told Alex.

"I agree," Alex replied looking at Melody.

It was almost noon so Alex was very excited for his uncle to come home. They laid in the grass staring at the clouds and talking about their lives waiting for Ian.

"Alex," a voice wafted down to the two teens.

"Ian!" Alex jumped up and embraced the man.

The man had the same hair and eyes as Alex making Melody look at the two together. Ian let go of Alex and looked at Melody.

"Hi, Melody. I'm Ian," Ian told her.

"Melody, but you knew that..." Melody trailed off.

Ian seemed to be puzzled at the two teens relationship. He couldn't decided what was going on between the two so he led them inside. Jack smiled at the three, "Good to be home?"

"For the three minutes I've been here, yes," Ian chuckled.

Alex laughed and Melody suddenly felt out of place. They were obviously a intune family and that included Jack. Alex glanced over at Melody and saw this written on her face. He pulled her away from the adults and braced his hands on her shoulders.

"Give it time. I promise we'll be a family," Alex told her making Melody smile.

"You guys are so... intune, I guess you could say. It's amazing," Melody murmured making Alex look at her.

"I guess," he replied softly.

"I'm gonna go up to my room... Holler if you need me." Melody went up to her room and sat on her bed. She and Jack had to go to the postal service later and get the stuff she couldn't take on the plane like her laptop and mirror and stuff like that. There was a window seat and a big window which made her happy. She loved opening windows and writing or listening to music. Jack was also to take her to get paint and anything else she needed for her room. Jack suggested she get new bedding so she could truly start new. Ian was finacing all of it and she felt like she owed the world to him. She was getting curtains, paint, a desk and chair, bedding, a rug, and a chair. The room was huge to her and she didn't know what to do with all the space.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Jack walked in, "Hey, you ready to go?"

"Yeah! Let me get my shoes on!" Melody slipped her purple flats on and followed Jack downstairs.

The pair waved goodbye and climbed in Jack's car. They first stopped at this room decorating shop where Melody was allowed to get things for her room. She stared at Jack, "Anything?"

"Anything! Now go! Find your stuff!" Melody grinned and went to the bedding; she based her room off her bedding. She looked around until she found a pretty aqua comforter that reminded her of the ocean. She picked it out and Jack came over with a cart. She put it in the cart and then found those bowl chairs that everyone loves and picked out a white one, she then picked out a aqua and white desk, a curtain that had a London cityscape in black and white, a curtain with a Paris cityscape in black and white, a clock with the Eiffel Tower on it, a sign that read 'Paris' in curly lettering, a sign that had a picture of Venice, a picture of Venice at night, and a white office chair. She picked out aqua, white, and sand colored paint before they paid. They loaded the car and went to pick up her stuff from home.

"I like your choices," Jack commented.

"Thanks! I really love the cities and the ocean. So, are we painting soon?" Jack nodded, "We'll start tomorrow. We'll get all your things in the garage tonight and paint tomorrow."

Melody grinned as they pulled into the postal office. Jack just ran in and came out with a huge box on a cart. Thye stuffed it where it could fit and drove back to the house.

"I'm really starting to feel like this is home," Melody murmured.

"Good. We love having you here," Jack replied parking.

Alex and Ian were playing catch outside and Alex ran over, "How'd it go?"

"Good," Melody replied beginning to take stuff to teh garage.

Alex was helping and Melody and Alex just unloaded everything while Ian and Jack spoke. They finished and Alex smiled, "I think your room is gonna look awesome."

"I hope so," Melody replied smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I hope this is a bit more interesting than the last one.**

Melody dressed in old clothes while tarp was laid over the wood floor. Melody, Alex, and Jack were doing all the painting because they wanted to keep it a surprise from Ian since Melody was so grateful. She was hoping he would love it. The plan was to paint waves on the already white walls and paint sand on the bottom of the wall. They started painting and talking; Alex and Melody were close now so they just talked about random stuff rather then deep stuff.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Jack announced.

"Thanks for sharing," Alex replied sarcastically as she left the room.

Melody looked at Alex as he helped paint waves on the walls. She dipped her brush in the blue and brushed some paint on the wall to make it look like the ocean. She and Alex countinued painting in silence until Melody decided it was too quiet. She found her iPod sitting on a table outside the door and turned her songs on shuffle. She swayed to the song 'Blackbird' and Alex watched her; he knew how much she loved music because, well, she had told him. Jack reentered and saw the two teens painting the ocean scene.

"Nice song choice," Jack commented helping finish the waves.

"Why thank you," Melody replied.

They listened to the soft music while they finished the waves. When they finished 'Wonderwall' by Oasis was playing and Melody was singing softly as Jack said, "Now we wait. We'll paint the whitecaps and sand tomorrow." Melody nodded and went to wash her hands. Alex followed and spoke, "You wanna go play a game or two of soccer with Tom, James, and I?" Melody had met James a few weeks ago and they often played soccer together.

Melody jogged downstairs to grab a pair of shorts and a tee shirt out of her dresser. She grabbed her blue and green Nike shorts and a blue top that matched. She grabbed one of her Under Armour sports bra and underwear and locked herself in Jack's room. She dressed and walked out of the room. She pulled some white socks on and tied her shoes. Alex was waiting for her dressed in his old soccer uniform; they dress like this because they were hardcore. They were cut-throat, and very much in competition. They walked over to James house to find that Tom was over so they played in James backyard.

"So, teams are Melody and I and Tom and James?" Alex asked making everyone nod.

"You wanna do bets?" Tom asked making them look unsure. Melody nodded slowly encouraging the others to agree.

"Alright, so I bet you we'll win and if we do you two have to kiss." Tom looked to James for approval and he nodded.

"And we bet you we'll win and if we do you two half to run around the block in just your underwear," Melody countered making Alex nod.

"First to ten wins! Let's go!" The four positioned the ball and continued into a game. Alex and Melody tried to block Tom and James but Tom was small and aerodynamic so he was fast and James was killer on defense. They were tied nine to nine and Melody and Alex were detirmined to win. Alex took Tom and Melody took James. James went for the goal but Melody blocked him making Tom run for the ball. Melody tried to block him but he made the goal. All four kids had been running non stop for about an hour so they collapsed on the ground.

"Alright you two! Kiss!" James told Alex and Melody.

"Uh... I'm alergic to kissing?" Alex tried.

"Alex, you are such a liar!" Tom teased him.

Alex leaned towards Melody and she pressed her lips to his. The kiss lasted for about ten seconds and they broke apart. Melody blushed looking down at her feet while Alex stared at James and Tom, "Satisfied?"

"Yes," they replied in unison.

"Um, Alex, we should go," Melody told him nudging his knee with hers.

"Yeah. See you guys later!" Alex told James and Tom as he and Melody walked back towards their house.

Melody glanced over at Alex, "You know you aren't to bad at that."

"Soccer?" Alex asked quietly.

"You are so oblivious! Kissing, you moron!" Melody replied elbowing him in the ribs playfully.

"Oh, that... You are too. This conversation is getting awkward really fast..." Alex muttered making Melody wince.

"Yeah..." Stupid James and Tom making them kiss. Melody stopped and grabbed Alex's arm, "Come on, Alex... Let's try going on a date. 'Cause I kinda like you..."

"I-I guess. Tomorrow night?" This was really awkward for them since they had to go have dinner together.

Melody nodded as they arrived at the house. This was going to be a long, awkward dinner. The two walked in the door and Jack called that it was time for dinner. They took their seats at the table and Jack served dinner. Dinner was simple; homemade veggitable pizza. They ate in silence until Ian asked how their game of soccer went.

"Uh..." Melody trailed off.

"Good," Alex replied smoothly.

"So, who won?" Ian asked.

"Tom and James," Alex replied.

"Hmmm," Ian murmured leaving them to their food.

Melody finished her food and took the plate into the kitchen and washed it. As everyone else finished she washed the remainder of the dishes and went to find pjs. She grabbed a blue tank top and multicolored pj pants and went upstairs to take a shower. She stood under the warm water letting it run over her body and relax her. She turned off the water and dried off. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and got dressed. While her room was being put together she was supposed to sleep in Alex's room. She sighed and set up a sleeping area in Alex's room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I hope you like it!**

Alex entered his room but left the door open because Melody was sitting on the floor talking on the phone. She was laughing and Alex smiled. She was explaining her experiences to who Alex assumed was Caleb and left her alone.

"I should go. I'm tired-Naw, don't worry about it. Love you, Caleb," Melody told him hanging up.

She tossed Alex his cell and pulled her knees to his chest wrapping her arms around her knees. She rested her head on her knees thinking about Caleb and her old house.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked sliding down next to her.

"I miss him, I miss D.C," Melody murmured.

"Maybe you can see him on the winter holiday," Alex suggested.

"Maybe," Melody replied.

Melody laid her head on Alex's shoulder and he smiled. Melody and Alex were connecting very well and it surprised the two of them.

Her mind was on the date tomorrow and she felt the need to talk to Jack. She decided Jack would help her out.

"I'm gonna go talk to Jack." Melody stood up and jogged downstairs to where Jack was reading a book.

"Jack! Ohhhh, Aunt Jack!" Jack's head snapped up.

"I hate that word... Anyways, what's up?" Jack asked patting the seat next to her.

"Well, promise you won't freak?" Melody asked hopefully.

"Promise."

"Alex and I are going on a date tomorrow-"

"You're what?"

"Going on a date with Alex."

"Okay... Continue."

"I need your help with what to wear."

"I can help. Let us go look in your dresser."

The two went into Jack's room and went through her drawers. The decided on a simple yellow blouse and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans. Jack handed her a pair of her yellow flats, "Let's paint your nails." Jack grabbed her bag of nail polish stuff and had her sit at the table. She put Melody's hand on a piece of paper towel and painted her fingernails yellow. Once her nails were dry Melody hugged Jack.

"Thank you," Melody murmured.

"No problem, Mel," Jack replied.

Melody started to go upstairs when Jack stopped her, "I swear if I come up there and you two are doing anything but talking or sleeping I'll skin you both alive."

"Got it, Jack. Got it," Melody told her running back into Alex's room.

Alex was laying in bed in his blue and green plaid pj pants and his blue shirt reading a book. Melody sat next to him and smiled. He smiled lightly and yawned.

"I'm going to sleep you can call Caleb if you want," Alex told Melody handing her his cell phone.

"Thanks but I think I need some sleep too. Hey, what are we doing for our date?" Melody asked quickly.

"Park?" Alex asked and Melody nodded.

"Night," Melody murmured getting settled.

"Good night, Melody," Alex replied switching off the light.

Jack came up to check on Alex and Melody and smiled when she saw them sleeping. Those two were going to make a great couple and she knew she could trust the pair so she couldn't wait to see them together. She left them to sleep and went to bed herself.

Ian rubbed his eyes tiredly stuffing his folders in his desk; he needed to get to bed. He decided to check on his nephew and... Jack's niece. He peeked in the room and saw the two sleeping peacefully. He kind of liked Melody because she had a good head on her shoulders like Jack. She took after her aunt in many ways but was still a unique person. He left them alone and crawled into his own bed.

Melody woke up late and saw Alex was missing from his bed. She stood up and ventured into her room where Jack and Alex were already painting.

"Oh! You should've waken me up!" Melody exclaimed seeing that they had finished the whitecaps and were almost done with the sand.

Alex tossed her a paint brush, "Well then, get started!"

She smirked and started painting; the finished in no time. Jack had an evil look on her face, "Come on, Mel."

"Oh no."

"Take a shower then meet me in my room."

Melody groaned and obeyed. She entered the bathroom and took a shower slipping into a rob when she was done. She ran into Jack's room slamming the door shut and locking it. Jack tossed her some under garment and she slipped them on.

"Here, get dressed and then take a seat," Jack directed handing Melody the yellow top and dark jeans.

Melody obeyed and slipped on the flats and sat down. Jack started working on her hair; she blow-dried it and then flat ironed it. She then proceeded to do Melody's makeup; she put the coverup on, some light yellow eyeshadow, some light pink blush, and some rosy lip gloss.

Alex had always thought of Jack as the kind of person that didn't worry about looks but apparently she had a secret stash of makeup and stuff because Melody looked amazing when she walked out.

"You look... beautiful," Alex told her turning on his inner gentleman.

"As do you... Well, handsome," Melody replied looking at Alex who was dressed in some jeans and a nice blue Hollister polo.

Jack pulled out her cell phone, "Pictures!"

"Jack, really?" Alex blushed.

"Yes, really." Alex wrapped an arm around Melody's shoulders and Melody wrapped her arm around his waist as Ian came down.

"What's the occasion?" Ian asked sipping a cup of coffee.

"Date," Alex replied letting go of Melody.

"Ah, have fun," Ian replied pursing his lips.

Alex and Melody walked out the door before holding hands. They walked hand and hand to the park where they sat on the edge of the fountain. They were watching people come and go when Melody turned to Alex, "I always loved simple dates like his."

"Me too; just me, you, and the birds," Alex chuckled.

Melody laid her head on Alex's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They just sat there for a minute before moving, and when they did move Melody pressed their lips together. Alex rested his hand on the crook of her neck and deepened the kiss. Melody rested a hand on the back of his head and broke away.

"Wow... I think I really like you," Melody gasped.

"Yeah..." Alex trailed off thinking about the date.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! xxxx**

Melody sighed heavily when she realized school started the next day; it was two weeks ago that she and Alex had been on their first date. They were officially a couple and Jack kept a very close eye on Alex and Melody. Ian had left for Wales a few days after their date and they had heard nothing from him. Melody was sitting cross-legged out in the front yard waiting for Alex to get back from soccer practice. The season had already started so Melody had practice every day at six and Alex had practice at three, right after school. She saw Alex riding back and stood up as he put his bike away.

"How was practice?" Melody asked Alex as he quickly kissed her cheek.

"It went well, I suppose. Let me take a shower and then we can get to orientation," Alex told her making her nod.

Melody followed Alex inside but sat on the couch by Jack. Jack glanced at her, "Alex taking a shower?"

"Yeah... then we're going to orientation," Melody told Jack.

"Oh! I have to go to that!" Jack exclaimed laughing.

"Oh! Yeah, you do! 'Cause I'm new and you're my legal guardian," Melody laughed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Jack teased.

Melody really enjoyed staying with Jack and Alex. They were very nice and accepting of her. She sighed as Alex came down the stairs and sat next to her.

"Ready?" Melody asked Alex interlacing their fingers.

"Yes," Alex replied standing up and pulled Melody with her.

Jack stood up and they climbed in the car slowly. Melody rested her head on Alex's shoulder. He smiled lightly as Jack pulled in the parking lot. They clambered out and walked into the gym, following Alex. They stopped at the first table which was for uniforms.

"Melody Starbright," Melody told the teacher.

"Here you are, Melody!" the woman replied cheerfully handing her a box stamped with the school emblem.

"Alex Rider," Alex told the same woman.

"Here ya go!" the woman replied handing Alex a box like Melody's.

The two found the scheduling table and got their schedule's before finding the table where they got their books.

"Melody Starbright," Melody told the man.

"Here are the books you need; Pre-Calculus, World History, Chemistry, Health, and English 2. For religious studies you will need to bring your own Bible," the man told her handing her the five books.

"Alex Rider," Alex told him.

"Here; Pre-Calculus, World History, Chemistry, Health, and English 2!" Alex was handed his five books.

"Rider!" Tom screeched jumping on Alex's back.

Alex caught his legs dropping his books and uniform, "What?"

"Hi," Tom replied stupidly making Alex drop his legs and gather his things.

The two boys compared schedules before looking at Melody's; the trio had every class together. This was their schedule:

_1st_ **_BLACK_ Pre-Calculus**

_2nd _**_GOLD_ World History **

_3rd_**_ BLACK_ Chemistry **

_4th _**_GOLD _Phys. Ed **

_5th_ **_BLACK_ Health**

_6th _**_GOLD_ Religious Studies **

_7th_ **_BLACK_ English 2**

_Study Hall **GOLD**_

Melody stared blankly at the schedule, "What is 'black and gold'?"

"It's called block scheduling; tomorrow is a black day so we go to the classes labeled 'black'. The next day is gold, the next day is black, and so on. We'll help you out," Alex promised.

"Thanks," Melody replied as Jack unlocked the car so she and Alex could shove their junk in the car.

It was exactly one week from the anniversary of Nine-Eleven; the anniversary of her parents death. For that reason she was always kind of out of it a week before and a week after but Alex had been keeping her plenty happy. Melody wasn't sure why she started thinking about this but she did and it made her obviously unhappy.

"You okay?" Alex asked resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Of course," Melody replied but Alex saw right past it.

"Hey guys? I'm gonna start home so I can start dinner," Jack told Alex and Melody.

They nodded and Tom and Alex pulled Melody into the soccer fields.

"Come on, Mel. What's wrong?" Alex asked her softly.

Tom added, "We care, I promise."

"Well..." Melody trailed off trying to compose herself.

"Oh, Mel. Your parents?" Melody nodded quickly making Alex wrap her in a hug.

Melody was trying not to cry because she knew Alex was in the same boat perhaps a bit better off; if you're gonna lose your parents you wouldn't want to be attached. Tom rested a hand on the small of her back and she realized how lucky she was. She had bene in England for over a month and three great friends.

"Tom, you wanna stay over tonight so we can all go together tomorrow?" Alex asked Tom quietly.

"Sure," Tom replied.

"You can see my room," Melody replied smiling.

"Is it all pink and girly?" Tom asked his face contorting into grimace.

"Uh, no," Melody replied in a disgusted tone.

"We need to get home," Alex murmured.

"Yes! I have practice," Melody thought aloud.

"Okay... I need clothes," Tom replied making Alex shake his head.

"You can use mine," Alex replied making Tom nod.

The three teens walked to Alex and Melody's house together and Jack was sitting in the kitchen stirring sauce for spagetti.

"Tom staying the night?" Jack asked as they entered the kitchen.

"If it's okay," Alex replied.

"Of course." Tom was calling his mom while Melody ran upstairs to change.

She changed into her Under Armour undergarments, her blue and green Nike shorts, and her soccer practice jersey. She tied her blue and green Nike cliets on and ran downstairs. Alex and Tom were sitting on the barstools and Melody slid next to Alex. Jack served them each a plate and they began eating. Melody had to leave in ten minutes so she ate very fast. She washed her plate quickly and grabbed her duffel bag.

"I'll be back at eight," Melody shouted hurrying off to practice.

She arrived on time and her coach smiled.

"Starbright! I have your game uniform!" Coach Kelvers shouted.

Melody hurried over and Coach Kelvers handed her a bag with her entire uniform; jersey, shorts, socks, shin guards, cliets, and Under Armour.

"Thanks, Coach," Melody replied thinking about their first game which was tomorrow after school.

"So, do I come here after school in uniform?" Melody asked quietly.

"Go to the locker rooms to dress and then, yes report here. We have pictures on Friday at six so be in your game uniform," Coach explained.

The other girls were starting to show so Melody put her uniform in her bag. Their team colors were green and white this year so the jersey was green with white lettering and the Under Armour was white. She got her ball out and they began drills. They ran laps and played a mock game before Coach handed out the rest of the uniforms. They were dismissed and Melody walked home slowly. She arrived home at eight as she told Jack and Alex and Tom were outside.

"How was practice?" Alex asked passing a soccer ball to Tom.

"Okay, I suppose," Melody replied dropping her duffel.

"We should probably get to bed," Alex murmured.

"Nah." Melody sat down on the ground and Tom and Alex sat next to her.

Melody laid with her head in Alex's lap and he kissed her forehead. She smiled and Tom gagged.

"Shut up!" Alex blushed furiously.

"Aw, did I embarrass you?" Tom teased making Alex elbow him in the ribs.

"OW!" Tom's yelp made Jack come outside, "Come on guys, you have school tomorrow. Melody, get a shower and all three of you pack your book bags."

"Aw crap! I need to run to my house! My mom took my books home!" Tom exclaimed.

"I'll drive you," Jack sighed going to get her keys.

Melody went inside and dropped her duffel bag where it belonged and went to take a shower. She showered and dressed in pjs before going downstairs to find Alex setting up an area for the three of them to sleep. Melody smiled and began helping him. Jack and Tome came back and Tom set his duffel and book bag by Melody and Alex's duffels. melody grabbed her book bag that the strap crossed her chest and put her binder and books in it. Alex set the alarm on his phone for five in the morning and set it on the side tabel. Tom, Alex, and Melody laid down and started talking.

"I have a school map taped to the inside of my binder and my schedule taped inside of my planner but I'm so nervous..." Melody murmured.

Tom took Melody's hand to support her, "It's pretty scary the first day but you have Alex and I. I almost cried the first day because I had no friend support and I'm obviously small. I was bullied for two years before Alex came along and beat the holy living crap out of the bullies."

Alex wrapped an arm around Melody, "Yeah, Mel. We're here for you."

Jack snapped a picture of the trio; Tom was holding Melody's hand and Alex had his arm around her. She logged into her facebook and posted the picture. She wrote a subtitle, 'My trio: Tom, Melody, and Alex. Wish Ian could see his nephew... I love these kids with all my heart and I don't know what I'd do without them. Mel, you're my niece and my sister by adoption. You're like a daughter to me; I love you. Alex, you're like a son to me. You are so headstrong but I love you. Tom, you're amazing. You're like a son to me and I love you.' She smiled and shut her laptop. Jack set her alarm for five and climbed in bed.

Melody jumped when the alarm went off and all three of them got up. Melody went up to her room and dressed in her school uniform; a blue and red plaid knee length skirt, a long sleeve white button up white shirt, a blue blazer with a red school emblem on it, white socks, and black dress shoes. She pulled her hair into a tight ponytail and went downstairs. She made sure her soccer stuff was packed carefully in her duffel bag before entering the kitchen. Tom and Alex were dressed and eating eggs so she sat down and Jack handed her a plate. She started eating and looked at Alex and Tom. Melody was scared, and was trying to hide it.

"Hey," Alex murmured touching Melody's cheek.

"I'm fine, Alex," Melody replied.

"Yeah, right," ALex replied lacing their fingers together.

Melody smiled and the three grabbed their bags. They were ready to face a new school year.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This is a very, very short filler chapter. Sorry! A better chapter later tonight!**

Melody, Tom, and Alex sat down at a table for lunch and Melody propped her head against her hand, "This is terrible."

"It'll get better," Alex replied rubbing circles in her back.

Melody sighed and nodded slowly. She knew it was stupid to be scared of bullies but she was. She had been bullied before but Caleb stopped that nonsense. Alex was a second Dan in karate and would protect her for anything and everything. She sighed as their table was called to get their lunch; they all went up together. Alex and Tom got cheeseburgers and Melody grabbed a salad. They paid and sat back down. Melody didn't have any homework but she was tired and wanted to go home. She thought about Caleb being at school back in America and felt a wave of sadness. She wasn't eating so Alex broke through her thoughts, "You okay, Mel?"

"Yeah," Melody replied as a teacher spoke, "Melody Starbright to the office, please!"

Melody sighed and walked to the office where the principal was waiting for her.

"Melody, we're very sorry but we need to switch your schedule. According to your former school records you must finish a foreign language this year," the principal explained.

"Oh, yeah," Melody replied.

"Here's your new schedule," the principal said handing her the paper.

She glanced at it:

_1st_ **_BLACK_ World History **

_2nd _**_GOLD_ **Chemistry ****

****_3rd_**_ BLACK_ Spanish 3 **

_4th _**_GOLD English 2_**

_5th_ **_BLACK_ Pre- Calculus **

_6th _**_GOLD_ Religious Studies **

_7th_ **_BLACK_ Health**

_Study Hall **GOLD**_

Melody gaped at it while walking back to lunch. She crossed her arms across her chest and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked as she shoved her new schedule at him.

"I have to finish Spanish," Melody huffed.

"Aw, Mel," Alex replied squeezing her side.

Melody threw away her food and went to gather her books as Alex whispered, "Let me know if anyone gives you any crap." Melody nodded and headed off to pre-calculus. She stood at the front of the class and the teacher directed her to a seat. She sat down and waited for the rest of the class. When the entire class was present the teacher began talking about what was expected. Melody listened and put papers in the correct folder. When class was done she exited as quickly as possible. She tried not to talk to anyone and kept her head down making her the perfect person to pick on. Melody managed to get to class before they could pick on her though, and took the seat she was directed. She sat through health listening to the woman talk and was happy when she got to leave. Melody sighed and left the room. She stuffed her books in her locker and grabbed her duffel bag. She jogged the the locker room and changed into her uniform. She locked her locker and headed out to the field. Their coach explained that they could beat this team before making them run laps and warm up. They stretched before running and Melody was quiet. She was always quiet around people she didn't know so she finished her laps and began their dribbling warm ups. Before she knew it it was game time and Alex, Tom, and Jack were in the bleachers. The other team was in position so a girl named Gemma did the coin flip for Melody's team, they won and got start off.

"Woooooo, go Mel!" Alex and Tom whooped making Melody blush while she dribbled the ball and passed it to a teammate.

The game went by super fast and Melody's team won making her beam; she took great pride in winning. Alex picked her up and kissed her cheek making her blush and Tom hugged her quickly.

"Great game," Alex told her as Jack hugged her.

"Lemme grab my duffel and then we can go," Melody told them jogging off into the locker room.

She slung the strap over her shoulder and ran back out to her friends. Alex interlaced their fingers and Jack looked at them, "Why don't we go out for dinner to celebrate your win?"

The three nodded and climbed in Jack's car and Melody sighed. She leaned against Alex and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Melody was stressed about many things and she wanted it all to go away. She was tired from her game and hated school; it was just so boring. A week from today she would usually be in New York but not this year. She was in England and she felt terrible. She would just have to do something else to pay her respects. Jack pulled in the restaurant and they all climbed out. They got a booth and the three teens piled on top of each other in one side. They ordered and Melody rubbed her face.

"I'm tired..." Melody murmured.

"You can go to bed when we get home," Jack replied.

Melody sighed and waited for the food. When the food was delivered they ate quickly and then dropped Tom off. Melody went straight to bed after her shower and fell asleep easily.


End file.
